Patty Murray
Patricia Lynn "Patty" Murray (née Johns; born October 11, 1950) is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator. She was re-elected in 1998, 2004 and 2010. Murray has served as the Senate Majority Conference Secretary since 2007, making her the fourth-highest-ranking Democrat and the highest-ranking woman in the Senate. Murray chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2013. Murray chaired the Senate Budget Committee from 2013 to 2015. She also previously served as co-chair of the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Beginning in January 2015, Murray will be the Ranking Democratic Member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. She is currently the 12th most senior member of the United States Senate. On December 10, 2013, Murray and Republican Representative Paul Ryan announced that they had negotiated a two-year, bipartisan budget, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.